Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a fixing device for fixing a toner image on a recording medium and an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium and incorporating the fixing device.
Related Art
Various types of electrophotographic image forming apparatuses are known, including copiers, printers, facsimile machines, and multifunction machines having two or more of copying, printing, scanning, facsimile, plotter, and other capabilities. Such image forming apparatuses usually form an image on a recording medium according to image data. Specifically, in such image forming apparatuses, for example, a charger uniformly charges a surface of a photoconductor as an image bearer. An optical writer irradiates the surface of the photoconductor thus charged with a light beam to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor according to the image data. A developing device supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image thus formed to render the electrostatic latent image visible as a toner image. The toner image is then transferred onto a recording medium either directly, or indirectly via an intermediate transfer belt. Finally, a fixing device applies heat and pressure to the recording medium bearing the toner image to fix the toner image onto the recording medium. Thus, the image is formed on the recording medium.
Such a fixing device typically includes a fixing rotator, such as a roller, a belt, and a film, and an opposed rotator, such as a roller and a belt, pressed against the fixing rotator. As a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed between the fixing rotator and the opposed rotator, the fixing rotator and the opposed rotator apply heat and pressure to the recording medium, melting and fixing the toner image onto the recording medium.